No money, no freedom : Pending fines make release from prisons a distant reality

Government level support in payment of blood money has dried up in the past few years

LAHORE:

Despite having done their time, some prisoners continue to languish in jails across Punjab, due to not paying their requisite fines, hoping against hope that one day some philanthropist organisation will free them of their ordeal.

As per data obtained by The Express Tribune, in 43 jails across the province, 80 prisoners, who have served their entire sentences, collectively owe Rs 207.998 million and will remain incarcerated until they can pay the fines associated with their crimes. 58 of the prisoners have served time for offences against the human body and the remainder 22 have served time for drug related crimes - their ages ranging from 20-years-old to 75-years-old. Former Inspector General (IG) Prisons, Mian Farooq Nazir, says that there was a time when Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) would pay the blood money or fines on behalf of poor prisoners.

“However, that practice has stopped officially now. Presently, philanthropist organisations pay millions of rupees to the government every year to release some prisoners,” Nazir informed, adding that sometimes overseas Pakistanis will donate for the cause as well. The former IG was of the view that poor prisoners had no hope apart from philanthropists. “If nobody helps them, then they are probably looking at a lifetime behind bars.” Abdullah Malik, an official of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working for prisoners’ rights, concurring with Nazir, said that NGOs collect funds and work on getting 2 to 5 incarcerated individuals every year but their focus mainly was on the elderly. However, as per Malik, some fines are beyond the financial capabilities of NGOs.

“A prisoner who cannot pay the fine or blood money imposed by the courts, has to suffer the punishment of non-payment of fines, even after completing their sentence, as per the law,” said Additional Chief Secretary Home, Punjab, Captain ® Asadullah Khan. When asked if the government planned on assisting the prisoners in any way, Khan replied: “The problem is that for the past few years, no funds have been arranged at the government level. Until that happens they would have to remain in jail.” He further informed that even if philanthropists pay for the release of some prisoners, the elderly are given priority. A director of the PBM, when asked about the chances of PBM stepping in to help the other prisoners, replied under the condition of anonymity, that this did not look possible at the moment.

“There has been a crisis of funds at the government level for a long time. Bait-ul-Mal has been working for the release of prisoners with help from the private sector and we are still trying. We will try to get some prisoners released whenever we are able to collect the required funds,” the director told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2022.